This story is the ninth in a series about how marketers for sports teams and leagues around the world approach social media strategy.

The Brooklyn Nets may be one of the only 10 NBA teams to have never won a championship, but they are still No. 1—on TikTok, that is.

With more than 132 million likes on their content, the Nets far outstrip every other team in the league by that metric, according to Marketing Brew’s own review; the Golden State Warriors, the team with the second-most likes in the league, have just over 84 million. And while the Warriors are the most-followed team in the league on TikTok, with 6.2 million followers, the Nets are still in the top five, just ahead of the Chicago Bulls, with 2.8 million followers.

The Nets’ social media following, which includes another 4.7 million on Instagram, wasn’t just built through hopping on viral trends, according to VP of Content Charlie Widdoes, even though the team isn’t opposed to a meme or two. (They really, really, really seem to like the “chill guy” format, for instance.)

Instead, the Nets content team is focused more on connecting with fans through its players, using them not only in posts, but also as a target audience and the inspiration behind the team’s social tone, Widdoes said.

“It’s always evolving, but we lean into our coach, our players, how they speak, our broadcasters,” he told Marketing Brew. “It’s not about us, or the people behind the keys. It’s about amplifying the voices of our organization.”

Continue reading here.—AM

Though Barbie made a billion dollars in 2023, and Inside Out 2 followed in its footsteps last year, movie theaters are still working to get moviegoers to visit at pre-pandemic levels.

In the first four months of 2024, theater industry growth remained relatively flat at 1% YoY, according to data from the research firm Advan. Comparing 2024’s figures to 2019’s reveals that movie theater attendance was between 14% and 38% lower than it was five years ago.

So what did movie theaters do to entice viewers back, and what can they improve upon those results in 2025? We emailed Wanda Gierhart Fearing, chief marketing and content officer at Cinemark, and asked her to reflect on the industry’s bounce-back efforts and what she thinks is coming next.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

In 2024 and in years past, we’ve seen popcorn buckets take on a new life. How can theaters up the ante in building out the experience of going to the theater this year?

Popcorn buckets are just one of the ways we have been able to create a richer movie theater experience by allowing customers to take a piece of the movie home that will remind them of the great time they had. We continually look at trends and ways in which we can add to the already immersive and carefully crafted experience we offer at each one of our theaters.

You’ve mentioned that you anticipate the amount of movies coming to theaters to return to pre-pandemic levels this year. How will this affect how your team approaches marketing the theater experience? While we do expect 2025 to be yet another year of recovery for the industry, we are encouraged to [see an] upward trajectory with wide release volume continuing to increase, with full recovery expected in the few years ahead.

The more content we have, the more opportunities we have to engage with our customers and create memorable experiences for them. Whether it’s working alongside the studios on engaging cinematic brand trailers to promote their new films, utilizing merchandise and other special food and beverage programs to build anticipation, or offering special screenings and giveaways to our loyalty members, expanded content allows us to build on our customer engagement even further, ensuring we reach all audiences.

Read more here.—JN

This year might not be an Olympic or World Cup year, but there’s still plenty on the horizon for sports fans and marketers.

Different sports and sporting events draw different types of fans, so marketers might consider targeting within more niche communities that each event is likely to attract, according to research from Sports Innovation Lab.

Here are some of the fan profiles, as well as key dates in Q1, for marketers to keep in mind.

College crowd: Brands in categories like health and wellness, financial and tax services, and home improvement are well-suited to take advantage of the end of the college football season, Sports Innovation Lab suggests. College sports fans, for instance, are twice as likely as the general public to purchase workout classes, per the report. Other communities include:

• “Health and wellness warriors,” who spend on products and services like fitness trackers, meditation apps, and supplements to enhance physical and mental fitness;
• “Boutique fitness fanatics,” who prefer luxury fitness experiences like F45 and Orangetheory;
• And “home improvement DIY-ers,” who are shopping at stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s to spruce up their spaces this year.

Read more here.—AM

Executive moves across the industry.

• Planet Fitness hired Marriott International alum Brian Povinelli as its new CMO. He starts on Feb. 10.
• LIV Golf tapped Merlin Entertainments alum Scott O’Neil as CEO.
• LinkedIn hired former Indeed CMO Jessica Jensen to serve as chief marketing and strategy officer.